The present disclosure relates to digital printing and particularly, to printing jobs where variable information from a database is digitally entered automatically into a template for a particularly selected print job. Variable data printing offers the advantage that a personalized or customized document can be created and printed automatically from a database of information without the need to manually perform a pre-press arrangement of the information on the page to be printed or individually on an image page.
However, where the print job requires many personalized page images to be generated from information in the database; and, where accuracy of the information extracted from the database for each personalized image is critical as, for example, where medical, financial or employee information is involved, it is necessary to proof each page for accuracy. Heretofore, there has been no way of enabling the user or person ordering the print job to verify the data entered into the personalized images prior to printing to insure that the proper information has been extracted from the database and entered correctly into the personalized images. Thus, it has been desired to provide in a digital variable data print job a way or means of automatically proof checking or verifying the particular images to be printed, prior to printing.
It has also been desired to provide digitally marked or printed images with discrete identification. Such as, for example, personnel name, serial number, model number, size, weight, or color where the image is printed/marked on packaging or wrapping material for manufactured products. Heretofore, discretization has been accomplished by attaching a separate printed circuit to the printed image or to an article to which image is attached. The circuit, when energized by an electromagnetic wave, such as a radio frequency wave, and known in the art as an RFID tag provides this discrete identification, such as serial number, model number, size, weight or color. This need to apply a tag has proven costly and complex and, thus, it has been desired to provide a more cost effective way or means of personalizing or discretizing a digitally printed or marked image, particularly for packaging and wrapping material.